Mr and Mrs Castle
by ipreferwestside
Summary: Kate was tempted to come up with a reason to call him, fabricate some excuse about why they needed to hire a PI. She knew he'd come immediately, fall over himself trying to win her back, get her to love him again. Set around 8x08, no spoilers known. COMPLETE.


_A/N: dedicated to Wendy, who I don't have the pleasure of_ _knowing personally but is a shining light in this crazy little fandom_ _. Thanks Lou for the prompt/beta/massive improvement on original._

* * *

 **MR. AND MRS. CASTLE**

"Assassins?"

"Yes."

"Married assassins?"

"Yes."

Kate pinched the bridge of her nose to try to ward off the headache that was forming. This was a mess of a case; it had seemed like a typical turf war between two rival mob families until they'd figured out that the suspects were married assassins who were now supposed to kill, well, each other. All they needed was a government conspiracy and it would be a case right up Castle's alley.

Oh, Castle. Mafia war involving a Mr. and Mrs. Smith-style assassin twist? Kate was tempted to come up with a reason to call him, fabricate some excuse about why they needed to hire a PI. She knew he'd come immediately, fall over himself trying to win her back, get her to love him again. Even though she's never stopped, and loves him now more than ever.

 _This is dumb, Kate,_ she chided herself, shutting herself in her office after brainstorming with the boys about their next move. _Just call him. Tell him something. Anything. At the very least it might get him to give you space. Otherwise weaseling his way into cases will only get him hurt._

* * *

Her inner dialogue was confirmed a few hours later when she was following up on a potential lead for the boys just a few buildings from Castle's PI office. She hesitated at the corner, tempted to ask him for help (or at the very least, backup), but she stopped herself from going up to his building.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts, though, that she didn't even see the person standing behind her until she crashed into his chest when she turned around.

"Whoa, careful, Beckett."

Kate froze, the deep voice and slight musk of cologne invading her senses, painting images in her mind of pleasure and ecstasy and _home_ , and when Castle's hands gripped her arms to steady her, she almost collapsed.

"Castle," she said in a clipped tone, hoping it didn't betray the desire that hummed through her blood, crackling through her nerve endings. It had been too long since she was in his arms; weeks of climbing into a strange, empty bed was starting to make her rethink the choice she made to leave him.

Rick leaned back at her tone and cocked his eyebrow, so handsome it was hard to think straight. "What are you doing here?"

Kate took a couple steps backwards, away from him, to clear her head. "Working on a case. The guys had a couple leads and I offered to help." _Please don't ask...please don't ask..._

"Need a hand?"

 _WHY?_

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay. I'm just here to interview a potential witness." She tried to ignore her husband's smirk, the raise of his eyebrow, the gleam in his eye. He probably saw this as a challenge, and dammit if she didn't want to take him up on it.

She really shouldn't; as far as she knows she's being watched all the time by the same people she's hunting, and even seeing them together could put him in danger. Then again, it's not like he'll stay away, she may as well take advantage of it. And she really could use the help.

"Are you sure?" His voice dipped lower, his eyes widening until she was caught up in the blue depths, and she found herself sighing in defeat.

"Fine, you can come," she conceded, but interrupted Castle when he opened his mouth with a grin, "but, you _stay behind me._ Follow my lead, and I mean it. Got it?"

Castle smirked. "At least you learned your lesson about telling me to stay in the car."

Kate just rolled her eyes and pushed past him, approaching the building next door. "I'm serious, Rick, I need you to-"

The woman came out of nowhere, barreling into Kate and sending her crashing against Rick for the second time in mere minutes. He steadied her again, but when Kate caught a glimpse of the woman's face she pushed off of Castle and started running. "Castle, that's our suspect!" she called back to him, taking chase.

She managed to cross the street after their suspect, grateful that it wasn't a busy street so she didn't have to dodge any cars. Apparently Castle wasn't so lucky, however; shortly after she reached the opposite sidewalk, suspect a half-block ahead, she heard the squeal of tires, and a light _thump._

Kate froze. _No._ She turned around, suspect forgotten, fear seizing her heart as an image rose in her mind of Castle being hit by a car. She whirled around, her frantic pulse preventing her eyes from focusing on any one spot as she searched for him. It wasn't until he popped up from the ground with only the slightest limp that the cold hand of fear released her heart, and relief poured like a balm through her veins. "Rick..." she muttered, taking a step towards him.

He waved her off. "I'm fine. Twisted my ankle on the curb. Go! She's getting away!"

* * *

Catching the female half of the married assassins, in the end, was easy, thanks to a dead-end alley only half a block into the chase. Kate saw her back to the precinct, and stayed long enough to see the woman was booked, interrogated, and taken to holding, but that was as long as she could wait. Grabbing her coat, without mind of either the time of day or the fact that the other assassin was out there somewhere, she exited the 12th in long, quick strides.

She had someplace to be.

Castle had texted her throughout the afternoon, begging her for information about the case. He was back at his office, after getting his ankle checked out and instructed on correct care of a light sprain. Brace, ice, and elevation, that was all.

Kate had audibly sighed at that text. He was okay.

But she wasn't. Being at the precinct, having to look daily at the place where she and Castle had gone from enemies to friends to partners to lovers, paired with the scare today, had made her think.

Was being away from Rick worth it? She didn't want him involved in the investigation Vikram was helping her with. On the other hand, Castle _had_ helped her find Bracken. They worked better as a team than apart. Maybe it was time. _Not maybe,_ she had concluded earlier as she made herself a coffee to distract herself. _He needs to know._

So Kate found herself back, this time striding into Castle's office building with poise and purpose. She was done running. She was done hiding. She was ready to apologize, to break down and tell Castle everything, and to hell with the danger. They'd been in danger before.

Kate Beckett was ready to come home.

She rapped on the door a few times, entering when she heard the gruff "Come in."

Castle was sitting behind his desk, his right foot propped up on a stool. His face brightened when he saw her, and he moved to stand, wincing as he put weight on his injured foot. His face flushed as Kate quirked her mouth, and he quipped, "I'd get up, but I sustained a work-related injury today."

Kate reached him in a few long strides, and before Castle could say anything else, she had his face in her hands and her mouth on his. His lips were silk and his taste divine; she had planned to pull back after the initial onslaught, but his tongue slicked in through the seam of her lips, and his stubble was so rough and enticing under her fingertips, she dove in again, pulled under, drowning. She heard a moan, from him or her or both, and only when Castle's hands started to drift down did she pull back, fighting for coherency.

"Rick," she breathed, her forehead resting against his. Opening her eyes to find his boring into her, his stare intense, his pupils dilated, she had to fight to find words. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, peppering his faces with kisses. "I was stupid. I can't keep it from you anymore. I won't."

Castle closed his eyes when she ran her fingers through his hair as if to swallow the pain of her touch, or to revel in it, and when he opened them again, he reached up and took one of her hands in his.

"Come here." He guided her to perch on his desk, bracketing her dangling calves with his knees, his voice rough but his touch gentle. "Tell me what happened."

Kate took a deep breath, clearing the fog of arousal so she could bring him up to speed quickly and succinctly, covering everything from Bracken having a partner to Rita to the minimal progress she and Vikram had made. "We could have used your help," she admitted, closing her eyes briefly when Rick curled his hands around her knees. "But it doesn't matter now. I thought I needed to distance myself from you to keep you safe. But dammit, Rick, you stepped off a curb and almost got hit by a cab. Whether or not I'm pursuing this thing doesn't put you in any more or less danger."

Rick closed his eyes and leaned into Kate's hand when she pressed it against his cheek, the pads of her fingertips toying with the rough stubble she found there. He turned his head to place a brief kiss against the inside of her wrist, sending lightning down her spine.

"Come home, Kate," he breathed, cradling her hand.

"Can I?" She matched his tone, hope uncurling in her chest, quiet and tentative. "Please?"

"Yes," his eyes flashed open, blue and breathless, and he tugged her off the desk and into his lap, helping her guide her knees to bracket his hips in the massive chair. He traced her face with his fingers, her nose and cheekbones, jawline, everything he could reach, and she basked in his attention as his touch both soothed her and lit her on fire.

His voice was smokey and inviting when he spoke once more. "Let's go home."

Warmth flooded her as she smiled up at him, and she took her time extracting herself from his embrace. She handed him the pair of crutches leaning against the bookcase and helped him up, barely suppressing the urge to nudge his hip with hers. When he started to move, she stopped him with her hands on his, leaned forward to sweep her mouth against his once more. "I love you, Rick. I always have."

Castle's smile was all roguish charm, underlaid with heartstopping sincerity. "I love you too, Kate. And I always will."

 **-FIN-**


End file.
